In an effort to resolve salary and policy issues in a five-year labor dispute at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library, unionized librarians, library technicians, and support staff participated in an informational picket at library branches October 6. The Ann Arbor Education Association and the Michigan Education Association represent the groups.
Librarians “are the hub of information within this community,” Ann Arbor Education Association Vice President Linda Carter told the October 6 Ann Arbor News. “We want to let the community know here’s where we are.”
Library management contends the librarians are overpaid when compared to other libraries in the state. According to the News, a 1997 library-commissioned report indicated Ann Arbor librarians were earning an average of $58,900 per year. The highest-paid librarian in the city earned $62,000.
The library was part of the city public schools until 1996 when a tax-reform measure split them apart. The 18 librarians and four library technicians were then represented by the teachers union, and the 31 support staffers by the secretaries union. “Since that happened, there has been massive disagreement about what the terms of the new agreement should be,” Michael Whitehead, a Michigan Education Association official for Ann Arbor, told American Libraries.
Whitehead said four bargaining sessions with a state mediator have helped to resolve some of the disputed issues. Two other mediated sessions are planned.
Posted October 15, 2001.